Elements of Surprise A Fairy Tail Fanfic
by darkollie77
Summary: OC. When Natsu and Erza get stuck in jail, they meet Lace, who has been wrongly accused for crimes her twin sister committed.
1. Chapter 1

"Natsu, you idiot!" Erza screamed.

The pink-haired boy winced. "Look, I thought I was helping by bursting into the courtroom! How was I supposed to know that you were winning?"

"You're lucky these are single cells, or you'd be dead!" The redhead slapped the bars angrily.

Natsu sighed. He head planned to rescue Erza, not get stuck in a cell! Now they had to wait a whole week. Everyone at Fairy Tail was probably laughing at them.

His stomach rumbled loudly. "Nee, I'm hungry!" he grumbled.

The prison door creaked open. The jailer walked in, carrying a large tray laden with stale bread and watery soup.

"Meal Time!" he called. His face, nastily scarred and weatherbeaten, making for a terrifying visage.

Natsu took his bread and soup irritably. "S'bout time," he grumbled. Erza took hers a bit more politely, with a quiet "Thank you".

Just as Natsu was about to tuck in, he heard the jailer cackling nastily in front of the cell between Erza and him.

"Oh, does the murderess want her food? Too bad!"

The figure in the cell extended dirty, pale hands pleadingly. Her body and face were covered in a stained, dirty cloak with a hood. "P-please…" she stammered weakly.

The jailer laughed, throwing the soup in her face, adding more stains to her coat. "No food for murderers!" He tossed the bread to the far cornere of her cell. The girl reached for it, but it was quickly snatched away by a couple of rats who escaped through a hole in the wall. "Oh," she murmured sadly. The girl moved into a corner, burying her face in her knees.

"Hey, jerk, give her some food!" Natsu cried.

"It is cruel to add insult to injury," Erza added spitefully.

The jailer laughed. "You wouldn't be so sympathetic if you knew what she did," he sneered. "Go ahead, ask her." The girl burst into furious tears.

Natsu moved near to her as the jailer left, cackling. "Here. Eat this," he said, pushing his bread and soup through the bars. "Go ahead."

The girl stared at him. "N-no, I can't…"

Natsu pushed it closed to her. "It's fine. Take it."

After a moment of hesitation, the girl lifted the bowl to her mouth, drinking ravenously, then tore into the bread.

"Hey, slow down, you'll choke," he laughed. His own stomach protested loudly.

Erza tossed half of her bread across to Natsu, almost knocking him backwards. "Eat some food yourself, idiot."

"Thank you…"the girl whispered. "I was really hungry."

"How long have you been here?" Natsu asked around a mouthful of bread.

"Eh…about a month?"

Erza coughed, choking on her soup. "A month? And you haven't eaten?"

The girl shrugged. "Sometimes I got the bread before the rats did."

"Why are you in here? I mean, the jailer said… but somehow I doubt it," Natsu said.

"I'm not a murderer. This…is why I'm in here," she said, handing him a WANTED flyer. It showed a girl grinning horribly as she stood triumphantly before a pile of burning bodies. "It's my sister," she said. "My twin sister."

Natsu stared at the paper. "The BLOODY MARY is your TWIN SISTER?" he cried. "She's one of the most notoriously bloodthirsty mages EVER—and they thought that you were her?"

The girl nodded. "Mariko—that's her real name—looks exactly like me and has similar magic, even though our clothe and hair styles are different. They thought I has my sister…and they gave me a life sentence, unless I pay a fine." The girl sighed. "But, since they took all of my stuff—including my money, I can't pay the fine. So they set it at 1 Jewel."

"Hey, Natsu…what if… we paid it?"

Natsu grinned. "I was just thinking that! It's only 1 Jewel. Even I can pay that!"

The girl started. "E-eh?" Really? Would you really? Eh, no way, I couldn't ask you to do that…"

Natsu shook his head. "Nah, I'm not doing it 'cause you asked. I just feel like it."

"Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!"

Erza shook her head. "My name is Erza, and this is Natsu."

The girl smiled through her tears. "Lace!" she cried happily.

"My name is Lace."


	2. Chapter 2

A week after

"So…who is this again?" Lucy asked.

"I told you, Lucy! Lace," Natsu grinned. "Lace Teared."

Lucy sighed, twirling her blond hair around her finger. "I don't see why Gray and I had to come along too," she pouted. " I was reading a really good book…"

Gray shrugged. "I don't really care."

"Gray, put your shirt back on!"

Erza looked around. "Hey, where'd Natsu go?"

Natsu had already charged into the jail's office and was yelling at the weatherbeaten jailer. "Oi! Can't you hear me? I said I want to bail out the girl you idiots think is Bloody Mary!"

Gray's jaw dropped and the blood fled from his face. "Bloody Mary? He's lost it…"

Lucy looked at Natsu curiously. "Who's Bloody Mary?"

Gray shook his head as Natsu waved a Jewel in the jailer's face. "She's…one of the most notorious vilanesses ever known to any guild," he swallowed. "She might even give Erza a run for her money."

"ERZA?" Lucy shuddered at the thought of such a terrifying person. "Well…Natsu did say that it wasn't actually her…"

The jailer was nervously backing into the room of cells, away from Natsu's firey breath. He returned a moment later, Lace trailing behind him.

"Natsu! Erza!" she cried, reaching out to the mages. "You really came!"

She stumbled, pitching towards the cobblestones. Natsu caught the weak girl, grinning from ear to scaly ear. "Hey, I promised, didn't I?"

The jailer handed Erza a pale blue messenger bag. "This belongs to…her," he muttered. "God save us…"

Erza flicked the jailer on the nose, knocking him backwards. "God save _you_, if you make one more comment like that." She rolled her eyes as he nodded nervously.

Lace stepped outside, grinning at the sunny sky above her. "Sun! Wahoo!" She threw back her hood, revealing a dirty blue ponytail and bangs that rimmed her undernourished face. The ex-prisoner threw out her arms, crying a spell aloud. "Photosynthesis!"

Lucy gasped as an astonishing change came over the girl. Her skinny limbs filled out to a healthy size int her coat and black leggings, which cleaned and repaired themselves. The stains on her coat vanished, leaving it sky-blue with white fur trim, matching her boots. Her hair shone a brilliant deep blue and her dull eyes sparkled in a beautiful silver. Turning to the Fairy Tail mages, she grinned.

"Look! I'm normal again!" she laughed, spinning happily. Her legs no longer ached from long hours spent sitting in the damp cell, and she danced around joyously.

"Wow…you're so pretty!" Lucy gushed.

Lace stopped, noticing Lucy and Gray for the first time. "O-oh? N-no way! Ah, it's just the sunlight…you're far prettier," she giggled. "Oh, um! My name is Lace Blorne! Nice to meet you!"

Lucy smiled at the ingenue's nervousness. "I'm Lucy Heartfillia, and this is Gray Fullbuster." She pointed at Gray, who was standing just behind her.

"Yo."

Lace blushed. "Um, why is he…"

Lucy turned around to see Gray removing his pants. "Gray. Clothes. NOW!" She passed a hand over her face. "I'm sorry, he has a stripping problem."

Natsu bounced on the balls of his feet restlessly. "What are you gonna do now, Lace?"

"Eh, well, there's this guild I wanted to see…I wanted to join it. Um, Fairy Tail?"

The other mages exclaimed happily. "We're actually Fairy Tail mages," Lucy said.

"No way! Really?"

"What magic do you use?" Gray asked.

Lace showed them her necklace, a string of colored orbs. "Each of these represents a different element," she explained. "Um, the ones that are completely colored in are the ones that I've mastered. There's…plants (this green one), water (the blue one), fire (oh, this pretty red one!), air (the clear-colored one…), rock (the brown one), metal (the silvery one), lighting (the canary-yellow one, the one that looks like the sun)…" She grinned, pointing to a lighter yellow one with black dots. "This is my favorite—cheese!"

"Why didn't you do that in the cell?" Erza pointed out.

Lace patted her messenger bag. "My necklace was with my stuff. I can't use magic without it."

Gray spoke up, again changing the subject. "What about ice?"

Lace sighed sadly. "Well…that's the only one that's not filled in. I can't find a proper ice mage that will teach me, so I was hoping there was one at Fairy Tail…is there?" she asked, suddenly anxious.

Natsu grinned. "You're in luck! Gray here happens to be a decent ice mage himself…"

Gray nodded, crossing his arms across his chest, which was bare again.

"…and he'd love to teach you!"

Gray glared at Natsu. "When exactly did I say that I was looking for a student?" he demanded, insulted that Natsu had thrown him into something big (again).

"Come off it, stripper."

"Not likely, pinkie."

"Ice brain!"

"Hotshot!"

Lace cut in tentatively. "Um, if you don't want to, gray…that's fine," she said nervously.

Gray shook his head. "No, no, it's fine. The training is hard, though."

Lace smirked, suddenly a different person. "I've meditated in volcanoes, fought giant squid, met a Thunderbeast, escaped from a maze of roses…I think I can take whatever you can throw at me."

Natsu laughed. "See? All's good!"

Lucy nodded. "Let's head back to the guild. Makarov will want to see you…"

"Huh? A quest?"

The Master Makarov nodded. "Hmm. Before you can join, I'd like you to accompany some mages on a quest. Like a test," he said. "Why don't you go with Natsu and Gray? I have a perfect quest for you three."

Natsu groaned. "Can't I just take Happy and Lace?" he complained loudly.

Makarov shook his head. "No, this quest is some distance away and I need at least one qualified guild member awake on the train."

"Natsu gets transportation sickness," Gray whispered to Lace.

"Alright, fine. Which mission do you want us to go on, gramps?" Natsu asked irritably.

"Cross your fingers that it doesn't involve maid costumes," Lucy muttered. "Not fun."

"There's a small village off west by the name of Coloure. They're having a monster problem; go and solve it." Makarov handed Gray the quest paper. "Should be aquedate challenge for all of you."

Natsu howled excitedly. "Alriiiiiiight!"

Gray smiled at Lace. "Are you ready?"

Lace grinned. "I'll do my best!"


	3. Chapter 3

Natsu stuck his head out of the train window, spewing lord-knows-what all overe the tracks below.

"Euuuuugggghhhhhh," he groaned, slouching back onto the black leather seat, his face an odd purple color. He scrunched himself into a fetal position and lay there, having lost consciousness.

"You weren't kidding about transportation sickness," Lace mumbled, feeling a little sick just looking at the pink-haired mage.

"Aye…" Happy sighed, curling up happily next to Natsu, "zzz…aye…zzz…aye…" he snored quietly.

"The idiot," Gray sighed at Natsu. He turned to Lace who had started to doze off as well.

"So. You have an evil twin?"

Lace jolted awake. "H-huh? Oh. Yeah. Cliché, isn't it," she smiled. "Grandmother used to joke about it…until…" her smile dropped.

Gray looked sympathizingly at the saddened girl, and changed the subject. "Do you still love your sister? I mean…she is your sister, after all."

The bluette nodded. "Yeah. She's done a lot of…awful things, but…she's my sister, you know? I grew up with her, and know her better than she knows herself." She sighed.

"When we were born, I was very sick with an awful fever. Our mother had someone put a spell on me to cure me, but it went all wrong. Instead of dispelling the evil that sickened me, the spell took all the bad out of me and jammed it into my sister. Since then, we've been…different. She hated me, because everyone called me "the blessed child" and called her "the cursed one", like she wasn't even human. Our parents were killed….in an accident and we lived with our grandmother. Then…we left, and went separate ways. I went to train and do good; she trained and killed."

"Did your grandmother die?"

"…yeah."

Gray nodded, commiserating with the girl. "Something like that happened to me. I was training under my master, Ur, along with another boy named Leon. Leon and I became very close…almost like brothers. Then Ur was killed, and Leon and I split up. I met him again recently in the most unfortunate of circumstances, doing some terrible, terrible things. I was really mad, but…"

"You still wanted to believe in him."

"Yeah. But I didn't believe he could be saved as much as I could have, and he… well. Anyways. Believe in your sister, okay?"

"She killed our grandmother, you know."

Gray stared. "What?"

"She always hated Grandmother, who was so kind and generous. Then, one day, she just…snapped. I haven't seen Mari since." Lace smiled sadly. "But, I still believe in her good side."

Gray gazed at the forlorn girl. "Lace…"

The train stopped abruptly. "Huh? Oh, we're here." Gray shook Natsu and Happy awake. "You idiots, we're in Coloure."

Natsu groaned and stretched, knocking Happy to the floor of the car. "Unnnnggggg."

Gray sighed, grabbing Natsu by the collar. "Let's go, pinkie," he grumbled at the choking dragon slayer. Laughing, Lace grabbed Happy and followed Gray off the cart, her good mood restored.

I need sleep…

I don't really know what I'm doing anymore. Or who Lace will end up with.

As much as I support GrayxNatsu…I can't write slash. Not gonna happen. Just so you know.

I really like comments. They bring up my morale! Lay it on, readers of Fanfiction! LAY ON, MACDUFF!

Okay. Um. Yeah. And stuff.


	4. Chapter 4

Natsu pushed through the pine branches that blocked his path.

"That old man said the monster was through here…Although I don't see why we couldn't stay to eat, those dumplings looked reeeeeally good…"

"Natsu, look out!" Lace cried.

"Eh? What?"

"Spider," she said calmly. She leaned over Natsu, pulling the branch the murderous, hairy devil sat on and moving it out of the way. "Here," she added, creating a tunnel through the trees with a powerful wind blast. "O-oh," Natsu said. "Right."

"Look, there's the cave." Gray pointed down the now-cleared path to a large rocky hill with a massive cave imbedded into its side.

"I know, Gray. I have eyes!" Natsu spat.

"Just checking that the image registered in your tiny brain."

"My brain isn't half as tiny as your—"

"You guys! No profanity! And don't fight. Save it for the monster…demon…clown…whatever!" Lace cried.

"…Alright. Let's go." Natsu followed her to the mouth of the cave.

Gray stared at Natsu. The fire mage'd never stop arguing with Gray unless Erza threatened him—and that was for fear of death. But with Lace—gentle, kind Lace—he fell into line immediately.

"Oi, Gray! You coming?" Natsu yelled over his shoulder.

Gray smirked, running after them. Lace was an interesting girl, all right. Gray couldn't wait to watch this play out.

* * *

><p><p>

Lace shivered, pulling her coat closer around her. "Whoo, it's chilly." She carefulls sent a small lighting ball ahead of them, illuminating the rocky path below.

Natsu wrapped an arm around her. "Better?"

Her eyes widened at his action. "Wow, your arm is really warm…"

Gray coughed, interrupting the horribly mushy scene in front of him. "Hem! Hem! Idiot. Hem! Hem!"

Natsu turned, his arm still around Lace. "What is it now?"

He opened his mouth to reply, but cut short as something behind Lace caught his eye. "Duck!"

He leaped forward, pinning Lace to the ground as a large, collie-sized bat flew over their heads.

"Batlings!" Lace gasped.

The three watched as Lace's lighting ball drifted towards the ceiling, revealing dozens of angry batlings. "Don't let them bite you!" Lace added.

Gray sprang up. "I wasn't planning on it," he grimaced. "Ice Make: Cannon!" A massive ice cannon shot down a dozen of the flying beasts.

Natsu grinned. "Finally! Some action!" He blew a massive fire pillar at the bats, barbequeing them.

"Tornado!" Lace cried, blowing the rest of the bats out of sight. She paused, touching the ground. "Something else is coming…They're big…" Her eyes widened. "Troll bears!"

Gray stepped forward. "I got this one."

As the troll bears stepped into the light of the lighting ball, green slime oozing from their massive jaws, he hurled ice at them. He stood strong and tall, the ice curling towards the bears in a beautiful display.

Lace watched him in awe. "Woah," she whispered. "I wanna learn that…"

The troll bears, injured and covered in ice, groaned and ran off into the darkness.

Gray grabbed Lace's wrist. "Come on, let's go!" he said, dragging her along before Natsu could cuddle her again. "This way, I think."

Lace grinned. "Let's go get 'em, sensei!"

* * *

><p><p>

The three mages crouched behind some tall rocks, peering around them at a strange glow in a cleared part of the cave.

"Goblins," Lace whispered."A whole camp of them."

"Aye," Happy muttered.

"What should we do?" Gray asked.

"Let's fry 'em!" Natsu suggested.

"Ssh! No, some goblins can talk, right? So…" Gray trailed off.

"We interrogate them?" Lace said.

"Goblins are fire resistant anyways, Natsu," Gray added.

"Humph."

Gray thought for a moment. "How will we get them to not attack us? Should we sneak up, or—"

"Dude, she's gone," Natsu sniggered.

Gray stared as Lace walked up to the biggest goblin, bowing and greeting the miniscule monster who only caqme up to her shoulder. "Goblin Sir, I would ask of you some questions," she said respectfully in the goblin style of speech. "If it please you."

The goblin wrinkled his crooked green nose, looking her over hautily with dusty yellow eyes. "Have you empty hands?"

Lace smiled, reaching into her pack and pulling out a glittering jewel-encrusted goblet. "This for you, O goblin." She pointed to the rock where Gray and Natsu still hid. "These my companions as well. We mean you no wrong."

Natsu and Gray stepped out hesitantly and bowed.

"This…This bears the mark of Hammerheart," the goblin gasped. "Know you Him?"

Lace nodded. "The King taught me to forge, using the ancient magic of metal. May I ask of you?"

The goblin inclined his head. "Yes, forge-of-light. Whatever you wish."

"I have heard tell of a demon leving in this heart-rock. Know you his location and intention?"

The entire encampment shuddered at the word "demon". The large goblin hesitated. "I can only lead you to him. His intentions are unknown, though many a night we pillaged for his Demon Highness."

A smaller goblin hissed urgently at his leader. "Sir! He kill us!"

The larger goblin snarled back. "Silence! The human has trained in the forges of the Great King Hammerheart, hotter than a newly forged sword. She is strong and has the blessing of Him. We shall help her…and her companions."

Lace bowed. "Thank you, sir!"

The goblin chief nodded and called over a smaller subordinate. "Lead them to the Stone Gate." He turned to Lace. "He is half-goblin. Maybe human blood calm your companions." The halfie looked like a human with green skin and large, bat-like ears.

Lace bowed. "You are most kind, sir. My thanks."

The halfie walked over to the path, holding a lantern. "This way, forge-of-light miss, and her friends, please," he called.

"Come on, you guys," Lace said, following the goblin boy.

Natsu and Gray exchanged a surprised look, then followed after the mage and the lantern fading into the darkness.


	5. Chapter 5

I haven't done this…

I am not Hiro Mashima (sadface) and I do not own Fairy Tail. But I do own Lace and Asmodeus. I wish I owned Fairy Tail…Never mind! Back to the story!

"What's the forge of Hammerheart?" Gray asked. "He seemed pretty impressed with that."

"Hammerheart is the greatest goblin who ever forged! His forge is the closest to the core of the earth and so hot that normal swords melt. It's filled with magnificent fire-beasts, but if you caqn forge a sword then it'll be the strongest ever!" The halfie said excitedly. "It's difficult even for a full-blooded goblin, so for a human to accomplish it is miraculous! By the way, my name is Harold," he panted.

Natsu drooled. "Swords melting? Fire-beasts? Sounds great~"

Lace laughed. "You're really enthusiastic, Harold," she commented.

The halfie nodded sadly. "It's my dream to forge there. Everyone always told me I'd get burnt up if I even tried…But seeing you, who has accomplished it…However, I'm still a half-human. He'd never allow it."

Lace's face darkened. "Still holding onto the halfie rule, huh," she muttered. "It was the one thing Hammerheart's council and I never agreed on…But Hammerheart isn't like that. You should try to go at least, and tell him Lace sent you."

Gray glanced at Lace, surprised. "So, let me get this straight…you had the king of the goblins show you how to use metal magic?"

Lace nodded. "I always look for the best, because I want to get strong…Except dragons. I can't learn from dragons. Too much power for me."

"So why do you want to learn from me?"

"Ice mages—legit, non-evil ice mages—are rare at best. Plus, I heard of you from another town. Something about a demon and a cursed island. You're the best, Gray."

Gray was glad it was so dark, or Lace would have seen him blushing. "Um…thanks…"

Howard spoke up again. "The demon is just through here," he murmured. "Um. Just knock."

Lace smiled gently at the halfie. "Thanks, Harold. Good luck with your forging. We'll be fine."

"Yeah, I'm here!" Natsu grinned.

Nodding, the half-goblin turned to leave. "Good luck, miss!" He dashed off into the darkness.

Lace turned to Gray. "You ready?"

"Natsu's already knocking," he said, pointing behind her.

Sure enough, Natsu was pounding on the heavy stone doors. "Oi, demon, open up so I can kick your butt!"

The doors swung open, an ominous voice echoing from within.

"Who dares disturb the great Demon King Asmodeus?"

"Natsu the dragon slayer of Fairy Tail does, ya big coward!" Natsu hollered back.

Lace shot another lightning ball into the room, where it expanded and lit the large space.

A teenaged boy reclined on a stone throne. Horns poked out from the dark hair that framed his thin, pale face. He smirked, pulling back thin lips to reveal sharp teeth.

"Well. Three little humans came for dinner," he chuckled. "How _nice._"

Natsu moved forward until he was a few yards away from the boy. "You should get out of here, kid! There's a demon here, and we're gonna kick his butt!"

The boy stood, snarling. "Excuse me?"

Gray leaned towards Natsu's ear. "That IS the demon," he muttered.

Asmodeus rolled his yellow eyes, cracking his knuckles loudly.

"I am the demon lord Asmodeus, greatest creature to ever walk the face of the earth, slayer of serpents, murderer of mages, maker of waffles!"

Lace blinked. "Maker of waffles?"

"Shut up! I shall kill you quickly—or maybe not," he said, smirking.

Natsu snarled. "Go ahead and try, you overgrown, miserable excuse for a lizard! Tumble with a real dragon!"

"Enough! Less talk, more show. Natsu." Asmodeus smiled at the mage through slitted eyes. "I could use some entertainment."

The two flew at each other simultaneously, howling loud war cries.

Natsu puffed up his cheecks and blew a huge fireball at the demon. The lord spread a large shield of black energy and blocked the attack, sending the red tendrils flying in all direction. In turn, the demon sent a blast of the same dark energy at Natsu, which the dragon slayer flipped over easily.

Lace shifted awkwardly. "Uh, should we help…Natsu? Or what?"

Gray shrugged. "Natsu doesn't fight well in groups. We'd just get blasted on accident."

A few minutes later, both demon and mage were panting heavily.

"You…not bad," Natsu gasped.

"You…bastard…I'll kill you," came the reply.

"Hey, if you're the great lord of demons, shouldn't you be a lot stronger than this?" Gray pointed out.

Asmodeus glared at him. "I'm just…not showing my full power! Fools!"

"Why not?"

"Ummmm…I don't want to waste it on weaklings like you! …Yeah…"

Lace stared at him. "You don't _have _full power, do you!"

"What! No! Fool girl! I am the great Asmodeus—"

"Then you should be in your original demon form! It's supposed to be terrifying. But you're in this boyish form…"

"I…That's…" The demon pouted. "Okay! So I don't have my full power. I'm still gonna kill you!"

"Why?"

This question came from Lace, who had had enough of this exchange. "Why are you gonna kill us? Why are you attacking the village? Why don't you have full power?"

Asmodeus glared at her again with his yellow eyes, but Lace just stared back at him. Finally, he sighed. "I am the great lord Asmodeus. I am the slayer of serpents, murderer of mages…and disinherited demon of Hell.

Natsu spat, laughing. "What?"

"I have been cut off from Hell and my powers restrained. I can't go into my true form, I can't use my powers. I'm weak as a human mage. It's disgraceful. If you'd like to kill me, go ahead. I don't really care. And I'm attacking the village out of boredom and habit. Okay?"

Gray snorted. "You've been disinherited. Wow. That's sad."

"That's stupid!"

Asmodeus stared at Lace, who was standing indignantly with her hands on her hips. "You're just moping in this cave and doing stupid things because you're bored? That's really dumb! At least when I was in the cell, I couldn't get out! But you, you could join a guild, or get a job, or have a good time while you're here! Or try to get your powers back! But instead you just sit around ordering those poor monsters. You're the worst kind of person!"

Lace crossed her arms angrily, panting.

"Uh—"

Gray laughed. "She hates pessimists."

Lace stomped up to Asmodeus and extended her hand. "Come on! Get out of this dark cave and have some fun! Let's be friends."

"Like I'd befriend a human!"

"If you don't shut up and get moving," Lace muttered, "I'll burn your eyes so badly you'll miss the brightness of this cave."

Asmodeus stared at her, then turned to Gray. "She's serious."

He shrugged. " Don't look at me, I've only known her for two days."

Lace stomped her foot, blasting a hole in the cave wall that led directly outside. "Let's go, you guys," she said. "We'll figure out something for you, Asmodeus. Trust me."

Asmodeus smiled, a happy curve to his mouth that showed his teeth. "Alright. But I'm gonna eat you later."

A/N:

0_0 I'm so tireddddd…..

I think maybe they changed personalities…I went off from my original plan…I hope people don't hate me for having another OC main character…But he's so cool!...Please don't hate me…

But still review with suggestions, please! Thank you for everyone who is following me d(=.=)b two thumbs up to you

Also, on my profile should be a poll about my writing and also if you want me to post drawings of my OCs, let me know. Please vote! I love you all, un! Let's watch Fairy Tail forever…


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: I don't own anything, but I did make up Lace and Asmodeus and Lace's sister and such. Wow, I really am not taking this one seriously. Oh well~

"We're baaaack!"

Natsu burst through the door of Fairy Tail to the voices of his fellow guild members.

"Where were you, Natsu, you missed a great drinking contest~!" Kana hollered.

"Hey, I heard you brought a new girl!" Loki called. "Is she hot?"

Gray followed after, greeted with happy voices as well.

"Gray! You came back! And Natsu!" Lucy cried. She flipped her head around. "Where's Lace?"

Natsu pointed behind him. "She's right here. And she brought someone."

Lace pushed through the doors and the room fell silent.

"She's almost as pretty as Mira-nee," one man whispered. "But…Who's the guy with her?"

Asmodeus trailed darkly after Lace like a shadow on a summer day, tall and black. He glared at everyone he saw, tossing his hair indignantly and showing off his horns.

Makarov stood in front of Lace quietly. She smiled at him cheerfully. "Sir, Natsu, Gray, and I were able to complete the mission and collect the reward."

The short man pointed behind her. "Yes, that's great, but who is _that?"_

Lace glanced behind her. "Oh, that's the demon lord Asmodeus. We're on friendly terms now, though."

Asmodeus jerked his head. "Howzit going'."

"He doesn't want to join, unfortunately. He wants to—what was it, again?"

"Watch you. Guard you. Stuff. Not for anyone else. Just you."

Lace nodded and turned back to Makarov. "He's my bodyguard, I guess you could say."

Makarov shook his head. "Well, I guess as long as he doesn't do anything to Fairy Tail…"

"Pssh. I have no want to get into a battle with any of your guildees or whatever they're called. As long as no one touches Lace, I won't touch no one."

Lace shook her head. "Anyone. Won't touch anyone."

Gray blinked. "Shouldn't you be more careful? He is a demon, after all…"

Lace smiled. "I'm sure it'll be alright. I'm not worried."

"You never are," he muttered to himself.

"I'll just brand you with the symbol, and then…where do you want it?"

Asmodeus bristled. "Brand?"

"It's fine; it's a part of joining a guild. Um…my hand," Lace answered. "Anywhere else it'd be covered up."

Lucy high-fived her. "Yeah! Brand on the hand! Woohoo!"

After the branding was done, Lace turned to Natsu and Gray. "Ok, so now what?"

Natsu shrugged. "I dunno. There's no good missions right now—"

"—and nothing going on around here," Gray finished. "I know: why don't you go find an apartment and get settled in? Then I can start teaching you until we get another mission."

"We…do you mean," Lace said excitedly, "that I get to join you guys when you go on missions?"

Natsu glanced at Gray. "Well, I'm okay with it—"

"And I'm the one that suggested it—"added Gray,

"And I'd love to have another girl on the team—"Lucy said,

"Aye!" finished Happy.

Lace giggled happily. "Thank you, thank you thank you!" she cried.

"There's an empty apartment near mine," Lucy offered, "and the rent isn't bad! We can hang out all the time!"

Lace grinned. "I just might take you up on that." she turned to Asmodeus, who had lost interest in their conversation and was staring at Happy.

"What do you want to do?" she asked.

The demon lord shrugged. "I'll stay with you," he said.

Lucy blinked. "I'm not missing anything here, right? You guys just met?"

"It's weird for a girl and a guy to stay in the same apartment if they're not dating," Lace explained.

"Dating? Is that like being engaged?" he made a face. "Because that's just gross…"

"It's kind of like that," Lucy said.

Asmodeus shrugged. "Whatever, I found a place anyway. It's kind of in the woods. This cave. There were some bears, but they don't live anymore."

"You mean they don't live _there _anymore," Gray corrected.

Asmodeus blinked. "No, I mean they don't live anymore. They make good rugs, though."

A heavy silence filled the guild, a very unusual phenomenon.

"Well! Then!" Lace said, breaking the silence. "Shall we see about that apartment, Lucy?"

Whistling, Lace skipped down the hallway. She had picked out her room; paid the first payment with the money from the mission; and put down the stuff she didn't need with her. Stopping at a door at the end of the hallway, she rapped quickly, calling:

"Luuuucy! Can I come in?"

"Sure, come on in!" came the answer.

Lace opened the door and walked into Lucy's apartment. She burst out laughing. "And you told ME that it's weird for a girl and a guy to be in the same apartment?" she exclaimed.

Lucy poked her head out of what Lace supposed was the bathroom, head wrapped up in a towel. "What?" she turned her head to see Natsu, fast asleep on her sofa. "Natsuuuuu!" she howled angrily, disappearing momentarily into the bathroom, and then reappearing with sopping wet hair.

"Natsu, what did I tell you about coming into my apartment on your own accord?" she shouted, shaking the dragon slayer ferociously. The pinkette shook his head sleepily.

"You said…I could come in any time I wanted?" he offered drowsily. "Aye!" agreed Happy.

Lucy stepped back, hands on her hips. "No, I said you had to knock first! What if I was getting dressed?"

Natsu shrugged. "Then I'd see you in your underwear?"

"EXACTLY." Lucy slapped him on the head powerfully. "Don't do it again!"

She turned to Lace, who was watching the scene with some amusement. "Hi, Lace. Sorry, Natsu and Gray always break into my room." she pulled at her hair. "Aw, it's so wet, and it's gonna take me forever to dry it…"

"Don't you have a hair dryer?" Lace asked.

"I did, until Natsu broke it!" she complained loudly. "He kept eating all the hot air!"

"Here, I got it," Lace said, widening her stance. "Hold on to something."

Lucy grabbed the door frame, Natsu grabbed the couch, and Happy grabbed onto Natsu.

"Don't eat this," Lace told Natsu as she produced a small fireball.

"Okay…here we go…" she said, creating a small wind in front of the fire. It grew bigger and bigger…then Lace sent it flying straight at Lucy, blasting her with the hot air. The blonde lost her grip on the frame and flew backwards into the wall.

"Oh my gosh, are you alright?" Lace exclaimed, stopping the wind and fire. Lucy shook her head wildly, making her now-dry hair fall perfectly into place.

"Yeah, I am! Thanks!" she grinned, putting her hair up into its usual pigtail. "That was really smart!"

Lace blushed. "Well, I did spend a lot of time in places without hair dryers. I had to come up with something," she laughed.

Asmodeus burst into the room, panting. "Lace! Are you okay?" he asked, clearly winded. "I came here as fast as I could!"

Lace blinked. "Uh, yeah. How did you know I used my magic?"

The dark-haired demon muttered something about a demonic connection, and then slinked out of the room.

"I'll wait downstairs, okay?" he called.

"Did he say 'demonic connection'?" Lucy asked.

Lace nodded. "Yeah, he did…"

The blonde's eyes widened. "He made a demonic connection? Are you serious?" She tugged a book out from her massive bookshelf and started flipping through the pages.

"What's a demonic connection?" Natsu asked.

"Yeah, what is it, Lucy?" Gray asked.

"Where did you come from?" Lace asked. The shirtless boy pointed to the window. "Natsu left it open."

Lucy glared at him. "I'd appreciate if you didn't—oh, never mind!" she pulled out a pair of attractive reading glasses. "A demonic connection is a connection a demon makes with a human."

"I could have told you that much!" Gray muttered.

"Aye!"

"Quiet, Happy, I'm not finished. They can tell whenever the human uses magic, and can mix their powers with the mage's to increase both of their power capacities! The human can also tell when the demon uses his magic, and can get to the location where the demon is at any time within 10 seconds," Lucy read. "They also share a psychic connection, and can occasionally read each other's emotions."

Lace blinked. "But I can't feel his emotions. And I didn't feel when he used magic to get here."

"The connection is probably incomplete," Lucy explained. "To make a demonic connection, the two have to have a strong emotional connection already. Furthermore, there's a kind of ceremony…you'd know if you made a connection. Asmodeus probably felt serious about wanting to protect you, so he carried out his part of the connection."

"But if he wanted to have a connection with Lace, shouldn't he tell her so she can do her part?" Natsu pointed out.

"He's probably a mixture of embarrassed and worried," Lucy said. "The fact that he already has such a strong emotional connection…plus the ceremony is a little dangerous. He probably didn't want you to get hurt."

Lucy squealed in delight. "This is just like a love story or a fanfiction or something!" she giggled. "How romantic!"

Lace shook her head. "Really, he doesn't have to worry," she muttered. "I'm perfectly capable of taking care of myself. And he should tell me about this kind of thing." She headed for the door.

"Where are you going?" Gray asked.

"I'm gonna ask him what my part of the ceremony is," she replied. "And see when the best time is to complete it!"

A/N:

Really I should have done this ages ago. A thousand apologies to all y'all and stuff. Okay then.


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